A Lost Christmas Carol
by Renata Holloway
Summary: Doctor Jack Shephard is a workaholic. However, the visit of three strangers’ figures at the Christmas Eve made him change his mind. Jate/Sana.


**A Lost Christmas Carol**

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Genre: Romance/ Family

Summary: Doctor Jack Shephard is a workaholic. However, the visit of three strangers' figures at the Christmas Eve made him change his mind.

Note: Story based on Charle`s Dickens tale "A Christmas Carol".

Thank you so much to Doublell!

Please R and R!

The cold night air invaded the office through an open window, blowing papers off the desk and causing them to fall in disarray onto the floor.

Jack Shephard jumped up and quickly closed the window. As he hurriedly gathered the papers from the floor and meticulously placed them back in their proper places on his desk, Jack discovered a long forgotten photo.

Jack pulled up a chair and sat down at his desk and stared at the photograph. His heart suddenly filled with tenderness. The photo was of his high school sweetheart, Kate Austen.

In the photo, Kate was posing in front of a tree at a local park that they used to go to when they were teenagers. Kate was so adorable. She was laughing and smiling, because she'd just had her braces that she hated so much, removed. Jack laughed out loud as he remembered that sweet memory.

"_God!_ It's been over ten years!" Jack said to himself. "I wonder how she is."

At their prom, when they'd kissed for the first time, they made a promise to each other that they'd be together forever… no matter what! But once school had finished, unfortunately, they'd become separated.

Kate had left with her family to live in Germany. Her father was in the military and he'd been transferred overseas. In the beginning, they faithfully wrote to each other but once Jack entered into medical school he devoted his life to studying and he forgot about everything…and everyone.

Jack became an excellent surgeon, even against his father wishes. Jack's father had wanted Jack to stay with the family, and eventually take over the family cattle and farming business. Jack insisted on doing things his way and he ended up leaving his family behind to study medicine in New York.

Later, Jack married a young teacher that he'd met at a conference but the busy life and long hours of a doctor put a wedge in their marriage and eventually they got divorced. They'd had no children and remained amicable friends.

Somebody knocked on Jack's office door which startled him back into reality, making him abandon his memories of the past. "_Come in!"_ Jack called out.

"Doctor Shephard, do you need anything? I'm leaving now." Libby, his charge nurse asked. Libby was the closest friend that Jack had in the hospital.

"No, Libby. Thanks. You can go. I'll be fine." Jack politely replied.

"Are you going to work another shift? Doctor Neil has already arrived, so you can go home now, too." Libby questioned him.

"Even so, I'm going to stay." Jack said. "I still have some patients to check on and lots of paperwork to catch up on."

"But Doctor Shephard, it's Christmas Eve! Aren't you going home to have dinner with your family?" Libby asked surprised

"No, Libby. I'll stay here in my office. I have everything that I need." Jack smiled, showing her a cup of cappuccino from Starbucks and a cheeseburger from McDonald's that he'd bought earlier.

Libby stared at him dumfounded and immediately felt guilty about leaving him there to spend Christmas Eve all alone. She didn't hesitate and asked him. "Doctor Shepherd, would you like to have dinner with me and my fiancé and his family tonight?"

"He comes from a large family and they make a lot of noise, but they're good people. It would be nice if you joined us, better than spending Christmas Eve all alone in your office." Libby explained.

Jack smiled. He was very touched by the invitation, but he didn't feel much like socializing that evening so he said. "Thanks Libby, I appreciate the invitation but I really do have a lot of work to do… so go and have fun and give my best to Hurley."

Libby sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to convince him to join her. "Ok. I have to go now, Jack. Merry Christmas and _please_ don't work too hard!"

"Thanks again Libby, and Merry Christmas to you, too." Jack smiled reassuringly, as he took a sip of his coffee and turned on his computer.

Once Libby left, Jack looked at Kate's photograph again. He gently touched her face with his fingertips and his heart melted as he cherished her smile. Jack thought that she looked adorable with her face lightly sprinkled with freckles.

Jack missed those carefree times when the only thing that mattered was being together and being happy… when problems seemed small and insignificant. Jack knew that things could never be the same, again. His reality was different now.

Jack quickly put the photograph inside his desk drawer and began to sort through the papers on his desk. He logged into his computer as he ate his cheeseburger and sipped his coffee.

Outside it was snowing heavily and children were making snowmen. Jack could hear an old Christmas song playing somewhere. However, nothing could really deter his attention from his work. There was so much to be done.

Much later, Jack left his office for a stretch. He visited some of his patients and said hello to Doctor Neil and then returned to his office. Jack felt tired and removed his shoes and lay down on the sofa in his office to get some rest. It wasn't long before he dozed off.

Suddenly, Jack heard a strange noise. The noise sounded like bells ringing close to his ear. Jack became annoyed and opened his eyes to find out where the irritating noise was coming from.

"_What?_" Jack gasped when he saw a pair of blue eyes staring intensely back at him. Jack became frightened and instantly sat up on the couch. He rubbed his eyes and asked himself if the image that he was seeing was real. Jack realized with disbelief that the image was still there.

When Jack was able to see clearly, he realized that the image was of a man. The man was one of the most mysterious men that Jack had ever seen in his entire life. He was middle aged, tall and bald and had serious and very intense eyes.

"Who are you?" Jack asked, still doubting if he was really awake or dreaming.

"I'm someone who's here to bring good memories back to you, Jack." The man said smiling. The man's voice was very peaceful and serene.

"What are you talking about? How did you get in here?" Jack asked becoming annoyed.

"Why are you acting like this, Jack? You used to be a happy man." The bald man mysteriously said. Jack blinked several times, trying to send the image of the mystery man away.

"Just because you read the name on my office door doesn't mean that I believe your presence here is supernatural or something crazy like that. Where did you come from? Did you escape from the psychiatric ward?" Jack nervously asked.

"Jack, where's your faith?" The man quietly asked. "Look at yourself. It's Christmas Eve and everybody is outside celebrating, and you're here all alone feeling sorry for yourself!"

"Someone has to take care of these patients." Jack tried to justify himself.

"Yes Jack, you're right. But tonight it isn't you….this is your night off. You don't really need to be here….and you know it." The bald man mysteriously said.

"Why are you here instead of with your family at your brother's farm? Your family is there celebrating together. Don't you remember when you loved Christmas? Don't you remember how wonderful it was to be with your family?" The bald man patiently asked.

"_The past should stay in the past!_ Things are different now." Jack snapped.

"It's your fault that things are different now, because you didn't make any effort to recover those precious moments. Don't you remember Kate?" The bald man asked.

"I haven't seen Kate for years! You know, we were only together in high school, a teenage thing, it wasn't a big deal." Jack quietly explained but he nervously looked down as if trying to convince himself that this was true.

"Are you sure about that?" The man asked. Jack remained silent and thought about what the bald man had just said. Then the mysterious man added. "Come with me, Jack. Let's travel to a few years in the past. You'll see your life as it was. You'll see Kate again, and then you can let me know if this life you're living now is better than that life?"

"Look, this is insane!" Jack concluded. "I don't even know your name!"

"I'm John Locke, _Your Spirit of Christmas Past_." The bald man confidently said and again he asked Jack to follow him.

Jack followed him out of the office and suddenly they were at his father's farm… which now belonged to his brother.

It was Christmas Eve and Jack could see the movement of people inside the house. Snow was lightly falling and covered the pasture like a white blanket. The house was decorated with coloured lights and a snowman in the front yard was wearing a hat and scarf.

If Jack was dreaming, then he didn't want to wake up, at least for now! It was so nice to go back home and see the house where he'd been truly happy.

Jack was feeling nostalgic and ran to his family's house. He ran past the white picket fence and darted across the lawn until he reached the kitchen door. Jack had forgotten all about the presence of Christmas Past. He just wanted to see his childhood home again.

The first person Jack saw when he entered the kitchen was his mother, who was preparing the family dinner. Jack felt such overwhelming emotions overtake him.

It was such a beautiful feeling to see his mom again. She looked ten years younger and wore an apron that was one of Jack's favourite. It had a picture of a goose on it. Jack's mother was preparing cheesecake for dessert, another of Jack's favourite things!

"_Mom!_" Jack called out to his mother, forgetting the fact that his mother looked so much younger. If she looked so much younger, then he must look older, too.

Jack's mother wasn't startled upon seeing him. In fact, she didn't even acknowledge him at all. It appeared to Jack that she couldn't hear him or see him. Jack was intrigued as to why and he was just about to call out to her again when John Locke stopped him.

"She can't hear you, Jack." Locke quietly said. "This is just a memory from your past, like in a movie. You can only observe."

"I don't understand. How could this be possible?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Jack, you're a man of science. I can understand why you're asking so many questions, but you should try to be a man of faith, too, like the boy you once were." John explained.

"_Mommy, Mommy_, I got the blueberries!" A little blond girl shouted as she entered the kitchen with a basket full of fresh blueberries.

"_Claire!_" Jack exclaimed, thrilled to see his little sister, again, as he'd remembered her in their childhood.

"Thank you Claire, you know how much Jack loves blueberries." His mother said smiling.

Those words made Jack smile, too. He suddenly remembered how he had been his _mama's boy_ his entire life… causing his brother to be jealous. And speaking of the devil…. where was his brother? Jack really wanted to see him.

Jack continued walking through the house. He was taking advantage of the fact that nobody could see him. John Locke quietly followed him.

Jack was shocked when he saw himself running through the living room with his younger brother, Sawyer. Jack was four years older than Sawyer.

The boys ran past Jack and Locke and hurried up the stairs. Both were laughing. The _old _Jack followed them both. He was very curious about what the boys were going to do.

They entered their old bedroom. Jack laughed when he saw the sign over the door. It said. "_God Bless this mess_!"

Jack followed the boys inside the room and continued to watch them. Sawyer was looking excitedly through the telescope and the young Jack couldn't stop laughing.

"_Jesus_! She's going to take off her clothes! I know she'll do it this time!" Sawyer gasped as he looked through the telescope.

"Stand back, Sawyer!" Jack said annoyed. "You're a selfish pig. I want to see her, too!"

"No way!" Sawyer harshly snapped at him, pushing his brother away. "Oh My God… she's so beautiful!"

Jack laughed when he remembered that Christmas. He knew exactly what the young boys were looking at. They were watching Ana-Lucia, their neighbor across the pasture. She used to pretend that she was going to take all of her clothes off in front of the window. But she never showed them more than her bra.

Sawyer was crazy about her. Actually, Sawyer was still crazy about her! Jack thought to himself…. because Sawyer had married Ana-Lucia ten years ago.

Claire entered the room and she seemed to know what her brothers were up to. She quietly snuck up on them because they hadn't noticed her presence in the room, yet, and she wanted to scare them both.

"She's doing it on purpose!" Jack said grinning. "She knows we're watching her."

"You're only here because you're nosy!" Sawyer complained. "She's taking off her clothes for me!"

"_BOO!"_ Claire screamed, frightening her brothers.

"Damn it!" Sawyer said. "What the hell are you doing here Ms. Scarecrow?" Claire stuck her tongue out at them both.

"I know what you guys are doing! You're watching Ana-Lucia, again. I'm going to tell mom!" Claire threatened them.

"_No Claire!_ Please don't tell!" Jack begged, worried. "We'll do anything you want."

"_The hell we will!"_ Sawyer scowled.

"_Yes_, we will!" Jack eagerly insisted, trying to convince Claire.

"Great!" Claire said with a big grin on her face. "You'll both play house and have tea parties with me and my dolls for a whole week."

Sawyer frowned. "_No way_! I want to play house with Ana-Lucia!" Sawyer grinned as he looked back into the telescope to watch Ana-Lucia. But instead of seeing Ana-Lucia, he was shocked to discover that Ana's father was glaring back at him from his window… and he seemed very angry.

"_Oh M__y God_, it's her father!" Sawyer nervously gasped. "Close the damn window, Jackass!" Jack immediately closed the window and they were all silent. Then suddenly they all began to giggle.

"_Jack_?" His mother called from the door. "Kate's here!"

"Mmmm, _Freckles _is here!" Sawyer teased his brother. "You want to kiss her, don't you Jack?"

"Shut up, Sawyer!" Jack angrily said.

"Jack loves Freckles…Jack loves Freckles…" Sawyer sang and Claire joined him in singing.

The _old_ Jack was having so much fun reminiscing with all of the memories before him. He blinked and then he wasn't in his old room anymore. Jack was in the dining room, watching his family eat Christmas dinner.

Jack looked over at John Locke at his side. "Are you enjoying what you're seeing, Jack? Your Christmas' used to be like this, you know. You had so much fun when you were with your family."

Jack's family and a few neighbours were having fun around the table, laughing and talking. Kate was sitting next to him. Jack thought that she was so beautiful wearing a pink dress. She was always smiling at him.

Sawyer sat beside Ana-Lucia. He was nervously watching her eat a strawberry in a seductive way. She was always provoking him and Sawyer loved it!

"Let's make a toast!" Christian Shephard, Jack's father, proposed. "To being together with such good friends and family, on this wonderful Christmas Day and to the hope that we'll all be together again in the future."

Everyone raised their glasses in the air for the toast. Sawyer felt Ana's leg gently touch his leg under the table and then he quietly gasped when he felt her touch the sensitive part of his anatomy. Jack laughed and Kate joined him. Kate placed her hand in his and Jack blushed.

The _old_ Jack really loved this memory and he turned to Locke. _The Spirit of Christmas Past_ spoke to him. "To change your life and be happy again depends on you, Jack. Only you!"

Suddenly, Jack wasn't at the farm anymore. He was back in his office, lying on the sofa in the same position that he'd been in before _The Spirit_ had arrived.

"_What the hell was that?_" Jack asked himself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack thought that maybe the strange dream was really a hallucination, induced by overdoing it at work and not eating properly. The coffee and cheeseburger had been his first meal all day.

Jack finally decided to take a break and get some proper rest. If he continued to stay at the hospital feeling so exhausted like that, he thought that soon he'd be hallucinating again. He decided that he'd better go home.

Jack got up from the couch and retrieved his car keys from his desk. When he got home he'd eat something more substantial and then he'd relax and watch TV until he was able to fall sleep. The next day he'd wake up a brand new man and then he could return to the hospital to get his work done.

Before Jack left his office, he went to the bathroom and washed his face. Jack looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked terrible! He had sunken eyes because of his chronic insomnia.

Jack lowered his head to wash his face again, and that's when he heard a voice behind him. Jack looked up into the mirror again and screamed.

In the mirror was the reflection of a tall bearded man who was smiling back at him. The man stood directly behind Jack.

"Hello, Brother!" The man simply said. The man was holding an almost empty bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"Who are you? How'd you get in here? What the f*ck is going here today?" Jack shouted. His eyes were wide with shock and fear.

"Too many questions Brother and I can only answer one at time." The man said with a grin.

Jack studied the man for a few moments and noticed the way that he was dressed. He was wearing a black shirt and a red and black kilt and spoke with a Scottish accent. Jack thought that all the strange man needed was a set of bagpipes to complete his ensemble!

"Ok….what's a Scotsman in a kilt doing in my office bathroom on Christmas Eve?" Jack asked himself out loud.

"I think that's the most intelligent question you've asked all evening Jack! But it's not a question you need to ask me, maybe you need to ask to yourself what you're doing here….all alone in your office on Christmas Eve?" The man said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, no…" Jack exclaimed. "Am I still dreaming? I thought I was awake!" Jack rubbed his eyes as if he was trying to wake himself up.

Jack was getting really annoyed now and asked the man. "You've got to be kidding! Are you going to tell me now that you're _The Spirit of the Christmas Present_? I swear I've seen this movie before!"

"Exactly, Brother. You're a smart guy. You got it!" The man said poking Jack lightly on his shoulder. "So I guess you already know why I'm here then, eh?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Jack reluctantly agreed. "But I'm not interested, so I'm going to wake up from this ridiculous dream right now and go home to get some real rest so that I'm able to return to work tomorrow."

"Brother, you're pathetic! Yes, you can return here to your lonely and empty life. Don't you realize that that's the real reason that Sarah dumped you?" The Scot asked.

Jack became angry and shouted. "Look here you Stupid Spirit… I'm not interested in whatever you want to show me. Go bother somebody else!"

"Are you sure you're not interested in seeing how your family is doing tonight… on Christmas Eve…without you? They miss you, Jack, including your father who you haven't spoken to in years." The Scot said.

"My father?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Yes, your father, Jack! What about your little sister Claire? She's so happy with her husband and son. By the way, your brother Sawyer is going to have his fifth child with Ana-Lucia. God bless them all. Your mother is making another sweater for you… even though she knows you're not going to spend Christmas with them at the farm again. Like every year for the past ten years."

At this point Jack was already surrendering and quietly said. "Ok. You're right….I do want to see my family. Ok, Spirit, take me!"

"_Spirit?_ No, Brother. My name is Desmond. Now close your eyes and hold on!" Desmond instructed.

Jack closed his eyes and felt a little bit dizzy. When he opened his eyes, again, he was back at the farm. He was standing in the living room, which was decorated for Christmas.

There was a tall Christmas tree in the corner of the room and several brightly coloured Christmas Stockings neatly arranged by the fireplace.

Jack noticed four kids playing in the center of the room. He instantly knew that they were his nieces and nephews… and they had grown so much! Jack hadn't seen the children in such a long time. He suddenly felt quite guilty about missing those years with them.

"I'm going to get you, Enrique! Bring back the head of my doll!" An angry little girl screamed at him. The girl was eight years old and had long dark hair and dark eyes. She was chasing her younger brother, who also had dark hair but incredible blue eyes.

"I won't give you anything, I won't give you anything! Dumb Elena!" The boy sang running through the living room and waving the head of his sister's doll in the air.

The other boy, Antonio, was the eldest child of Sawyer and Ana-Lucia. He was ten years old and he was a carbon copy of his father with straight blond hair, dimples and blue eyes. Antonio was playing a videogame and not at all paying attention to his younger brother and sister.

Monica, Sawyer and Ana's youngest child was only four years old and she looked like Antonio. Monica was more concerned about looking for Santa Claus in the fireplace. She was about to fall into the fireplace when Ana-Lucia entered the living room and hysterically shouted. "_Monica!_ _For God's Sake girl!_ Get away from there! _Tony!_ You're not watching your baby sister!"

"Yeah mom?" The boy obliviously said without taking his eyes away from the video game.

At this point Sawyer entered the living room with his father and sighed when he saw his wife becoming stressed… again. That was definitely not good for their baby. "Honey, you're losing patience with the children again? Let me take care of them and you go and get some rest. Come on, _Baby_!"

"But Monica almost fell in the fireplace!" Ana protested.

"I want to see Santa, Mommy!" Monica whined as she crawled into her mother's lap. "It's too early for him yet, Sweetie!" Ana softly comforted her.

"Give her to me!" Sawyer sweetly said as he gently scooped up the little girl out of her mother's arms. "Baby, stay away from the fireplace, ok? Because you could get hurt!"

Sawyer finally noticed the fight between his older children and said. "_Enrique_! Give your sister back her dolly's head….and Antonio that's enough videogames!"

However, none of his children paid any attention to him. So Sawyer gently placed Monica back onto the floor and removed a whistle from his pocket blew it. The shrill was deafening.

The children immediately became frightened at the shocking noise and looked at him. They all ran to their mother as if they were frightened little chickens.

"Better!" Sawyer said smiling and placing the whistle back into his pocket before sitting on the sofa beside his wife. He kissed Ana's cheek. The kids still stood close to her.

"_Baby,_ you've got to be more patient with them. Look at their little faces now." Ana said trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch, because of the weight of her baby tummy.

"Oh no, those faces don't fool me one little bit!" Sawyer boomed, and the kids started laughing before they went back to play. "Besides, look what patience did for me and Jack. My own damn brother hasn't come here in years. He hasn't even met Monica yet."

"Sawyer, he sent flowers when I gave birth to Monica." Ana-Lucia said.

"_Flowers!"_ Sawyer snapped. "Unacceptable! He should be a man…part of this family….and come here in person, instead of sending flowers. I can't bear to watch mama cry every year on Christmas because Jack isn't here!"

"_Sawyer!_ Don't start." Christian said. "Let's not talk about your brother. If he prefers bedpans and scalpels to our company then that's his problem!"

"I don't like it when you two talk like that." Ana said. "Maybe Jack _is_ planning to come this year and he'd be hurt if he knew you two were talking about him like this!"

"I don't care!" Sawyer said as he got up off the sofa and picked Monica up and placed her on his hip. "He thinks he's better than us because he's a doctor! I raise cattle and farm! So what?"

Nobody said anything more. Jack felt so sad watching his brother talk about him like that. But Jack knew that this was entirely all his own fault.

Jack had been distant from his family since he'd decided to become a doctor instead of a rancher like his father, and take over the family business.

The doorbell rang. Enrique ran to the door with Elena. They started fighting over who was going to open the door. "I get to open the door!" Enrique shouted.

"No way! I do! I'll open the door!" Elena shouted, pushing her brother away from the door.

"Hey you two! Ay, ay, ay!" Ana-Lucia yelled.

"Hey, Ana, you can't get stressed, Baby!" Sawyer gently said to his wife. "And you two stop it right now! Monica will open the door!"

Enrique and Elena frowned and went to sit on the sofa. Both were upset. Sawyer went to the door holding Monica in his arms. The little girl turned the doorknob and Claire entered, holding a huge bag of presents, followed by her husband Charlie.

Charlie was carrying their baby, Aaron, in his arms. They'd come all the way from England, where they lived now. They came every year to spend Christmas with the family at the farm.

"_Auntie, Claire_!" Monica screamed, excited.

"Hello, Sweetie!" Claire beamed.

"Auntie Claire! Auntie Claire!" The other three kids started screaming and dancing around her.

"Did you bring gifts?" Tony excitedly asked.

"Yes, Baby. Of course I brought gifts for all of my lovely nieces and nephews." Claire looked at Ana-Lucia and said. "Wow! You look so beautiful, Ana!"

Claire set the bag of presents down on a table and hugged Ana-Lucia. "But it's so hard to hug you, now. You're huge but absolutely gorgeous!"

Ana blushed and kissed her sister-in-law's cheek. "Thanks Honey!"

"Do you know what the gender is?" Claire asked caressing Ana's baby tummy.

"A girl!" Ana excitedly gushed. "Sawyer and I made a bet again… and he lost… again. He never wins! Now he owes me a new car!"

Claire laughed. Mrs. Shephard entered the room smiling and ran to hug her daughter and son-in-law. "Oh My God! This is Aaron? He's so big, now!" The proud grandma said while taking the baby from Charlie's arms.

Another couple entered the living room. It was Charlie's brother Liam and his wife Carol and their daughter Megan. Teresa, Ana's mother came out from the kitchen to greet everyone. Teresa's husband Manoel was in the bedroom dressing up like Santa to entertain the children.

Everything seemed perfect. Jack wanted so much to be there with everyone, but he thought it wouldn't be a very good idea after he'd heard his brother's and father's comments. They were talking about Jack's mothers' wishes. "_Christmas would be perfect… if only Jack was here."_

"He isn't coming, Mom! And you know what? I'd prefer it if he never came back here, again!" Sawyer snapped.

Jack was devastated when he heard his brother's words, and then suddenly he realized that he wasn't on the farm anymore. He was back in his office, again, but this time he was sitting in his chair at his desk.

_The S__pirit of Christmas Present_ was sitting there in front of him. Desmond smiled and said. "You can change things, Jack! It all depends on you, Brother!" Then he disappeared.

Jack rubbed his eyes. He thought that he must finally be awake. "I'm tired of these crazy dreams!" Jack muttered to himself. "I've got to get home!"

Jack grabbed his briefcase and car keys. Then he put on his jacket and wished a Merry Christmas to everyone in the hospital on his way out. He got into his car in the parking lot and sat there for a few minutes.

However, when he turned his head sideways he saw a serious looking man sitting in the passenger seat beside him. The man was dressed in black and looked at him with an ironic, icy glance. "Hello, Jack. I'm Benjamin Linus, _Your Spirit of Christmas Future_."

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5…" Jack start counting out loud, hoping that that ghost would disappear and he could return to his normal life.

Benjamin Linus laughed out loud. His laugh was strangely followed by the ominous sound of thunder outside.

"Counting up to five again, Jack? Do you really believe that doing this will fix all of your problems? Jack, if you wake up now… your chances of changing your life will be over."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack asked but he had no answer because suddenly a cloud of black smoke covered him.

Jack started coughing a lot and his eyes were full of tears because of the smoke. However, the smoke dissipated soon and Jack realized that he was on the farm again.

Jack knew it was Christmas because of the snow in the pastures, but inside the house things were different. The house wasn't decorated and the children weren't playing. They were sitting solemnly on the couch with sad little faces.

Jack observed his sister and mother crying. Both were dressed in black. Jack walked apprehensively into the living room and saw a black coffin. His father and brother were looking at the coffin and both had tears in their eyes. Ana-Lucia was right behind them holding a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket.

Things started to become even stranger when Jack saw Sarah and Libby there, as well. They were crying, too. There were other people present that Jack recognized and everyone looked so sad.

"What's going on here? Who died?" Jack asked The Spirit of Christmas Future, but he wasn't by his side anymore. Benjamin Linus was floating near the ceiling above everyone, with Desmond and Locke. It was bizarre scene. Jack became extremely agitated. He wanted to know who was in that coffin.

Then suddenly Kate ran past him, screaming. "_Jack_! _Jack no_! Why did you do this_? Why?"_

"_Kate!_" Jack gasped, thrilled at seeing Kate again after so many years. She was so beautiful but so distraught and crying desperately as she looked at the coffin.

"Who's in that damn coffin?" Jack yelled but nobody listened to him. His heart stopped beating for a second when he saw _his _own bodyinside the coffin.

"_Nooo!"_ Jack cried. "I need to wake up from this crazy dream! I want my life back!"

Kate couldn't stop weeping over Jack's coffin. Jack couldn't stay there and watch that scene anymore, but he had no idea how he could get out of there. The Christmas Spirits had disappeared and he was left to wander alone around the living room, bumping into people.

He finally got out of the house and saw his brother outside. Sawyer was alone in the cold trying to light a cigarette in the strong wind. "Damn it!" Sawyer cursed because the cigarette wouldn't light in the wind.

Jack quietly watched his brother. Sawyer seemed extremely upset. Ana-Lucia came outside and wrapped her shawl around her husbands' shoulders. Sawyer looked up at her and said. "Go back inside. I want to be alone!"

"No, Baby!" Ana-Lucia stubbornly said. "I'm your Honey Bunny, remember? I'm _not_ going to leave you alone. Never! I love you!"

Sawyer broke down and hugged his wife and starting crying in her arms like a little boy.

"I was mad at him because he never cared about us when he became a doctor. He never came to see us and I was angry because I missed him so much. But baby I had no idea that he was feeling so bad. Why did he kill himself, Lulu? Why? He was my brother…my only brother."

Ana-Lucia cried, too, and kissed Sawyer's forehead. They stayed together and just held each other and cried.

Jack couldn't believe that he'd killed himself. He never, ever once thought about committing suicide. He really needed to wake up from this terrible nightmare!

Jack returned to the living room. Kate was still crying, but this time his mother was holding her. Jack tried to embrace both but he wasn't able to touch them.

"Oh, my son! My boy!" Jack's father was weeping in front of the coffin.

"Enough! I want to wake up!" Jack screamed. "_Please_, I need to wake up!"

"Jack, are you okay, man?" A voice called out to him.

Jack opened his eyes slowly and realized that he wasn't at the farm anymore. Jack realized that he was on his sofa, in his office, and Damon Neil, the other doctor on shift was staring down at him with a worried look on his face.

"Jack?" Neil asked again.

Jack sat up on the couch, still a little confused. Was he really awake this time? He wiped the tears from his face with his hands.

"I came to ask you if you'd like to get something to eat in the cafeteria with me. That's when I heard you screaming that you wanted to wake up. You sounded so desperate. I came in and found you like this. Are you ok?" Dr. Neil worriedly asked.

Jack smiled. He felt relieved that he was awake and that everything was only a bad dream. "I'm fine, Damon…but I think I've been working too much." Jack said trying to reassure Damon…and himself.

"I think you should go home and get some rest… and I'm saying this as a doctor…. and as your friend." Neil stated.

"Thanks for the advice, Damon. But strangely I'm not feeling so tired anymore." Jack said.

"Ok. So are you staying here at work then?" Damon asked.

"No, my friend. I'm going to my brother's ranch to spend Christmas with my family." Jack announced…surprising himself.

"It is almost ten o'clock. Is your brother's ranch far from here?" Damon asked.

"Not that far!" Jack said. "I'll get there in time. Merry Christmas to you, my friend."

"Thanks Jack and Merry Christmas to you, too." Neil said smiling as he watched Jack put on his coat and retrieve his car keys before leaving.

Once Jack was ready, he quickly locked his office door and walked down the hallway towards the parkade. As he was walking, he decided to check his phone messages. After several rings, the answering machine finally picked up.

"Hi. Jack Shephard, here. I can't take your call at the moment, so please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Jack…its Kate Austen. I know it's been a long time… and maybe you don't even remember me anymore… but I'm calling you to tell you that I'm in town, right now. Actually, at the moment I'm on my way to your family's farm for the holidays. I really wanted to see your family. I miss everyone. I don't know if you're even going to be there, but I hope you will be…I'd love to see you, again. If I don't see you, then I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas…. and tell you that I've never forgotten you."

The called ended.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jack was driving along the highway towards his family's farm. He was having a very difficult time because of the snow. The icy conditions left the roads quite treacherous.

Nothing would stop Jack from getting home, because he needed to see his family again. He didn't know why, but his heart was saying that if he got there soon, he'd be in for a big surprise.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kate's heart was pounding after she'd hung up the phone after her call to Jack, the man that she'd never been able to forget. Jack was the man who had constantly been in her thoughts since her childhood.

Kate had been out of the country for a very long time, but she'd hoped to find Jack again, once she returned. She accelerated her car, knowing that she'd arrive at the farm soon.

Jack reached the end of the road that entered into a driveway full of snow that led to his family's farm. He continued driving quickly, until his car slid on the ice and got stuck in a snowbank.

Jack got out of his car and starting to move the snow from around his tires with his bare hands. Not long after that, a car pulled up behind him and honked.

Jack hadn't even bothered to look up at the driver of the other car. The sound of the horn sounded again. Jack stood up to face the driver and explain that his car was stuck in the snow, and was shocked to discover the last person that he'd ever expected to see that night.

"_Kate?_" Jack said astonished. Kate recognized him, instantly. It was like time stood still for both.

Despite the cold, Kate felt her heart fill with unexplained warmth, and without saying a word she ran towards Jack and hugged him. Jack wondered if he was dreaming again, but this time he wouldn't mind it if he was.

Jack and Kate stared deeply into each other's eyes and held hands before their lips met in an intense kiss. It was snowing, and light flakes snow covered them during their kiss.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"One more Christmas without Jack! He isn't coming again this year!" Margot Shephard sadly said to Ana-Lucia in the kitchen.

"Margot, I've got a good feeling about this year. Don't be so sad… especially because Kate is arriving soon… and who knows…maybe she convinced Jack to come." Ana said hopefully.

"Ana, I don't know… maybe I should stop wanting it so much!" Margot sadly said.

In the living room, Antonio was watching the snow fall through the window when he noticed a car pull up in front of the house. It had been four years since he'd seen his Uncle Jack, but he recognized him immediately.

"_Uncle Jack!"_ The boy screamed excitedly. "_Dad, Mom_! Grandpa… Uncle Jack is here!"

"What?" Sawyer gasped. Sawyer was finishing putting some new decorations on the Christmas tree but he stopped and ran to the window, followed by his dad and his other children.

Sawyer could see for himself that his older brother Jack was walking up to the front door, smiling and holding Kate's hand. Sawyer's eyes became full of tears… as did his father's.

"_Honey B__unny_! _Mom,_ Come quickly! Jack's here!" Sawyer excitedly called out.

In the kitchen, Margot and Ana-Lucia couldn't believe what they'd just heard. Claire, her husband Charlie, and the rest of the people rushed to see what all the excitement was about.

Everyone became so emotional at seeing Jack hugging his father and brother at the same time. Margot and Claire joined them, too.

"_Jack!_ You're really here!" Margot exclaimed with joy. "I can't believe you're really here."

"I'm here, mother and I'm not going anywhere." Jack emotionally said.

The family reunited around the dinner table, finally together again after so many years. Jack held Kate's hand again, during the Christmas Dinner, like old times.

"Let's make a toast!" Sawyer said as he raised his glass. "A toast to our wonderful family that's been blessed by being reunited with my long lost brother Jackass…" Everyone laughed.

"Because Jack finally had the good sense enough to leave that damn hospital and come home and be with his family on Christmas Eve. I love you, brother. To Jack!" Sawyer finished.

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted in unison. "_To Jack_!"

Jack felt so happy for the first time after so many long years alone, and it was at that moment that he believed that his life would only get better with his family and friends around him.

_**The end**_


End file.
